Left Coast Sports Babe

RIP Batman. And there goes a big piece of my childhood. Biff Bam. Pow

So will Adam West’s funeral be spread over two days? And mourners be told to come back tomorrow “same bat time, same bat channel?”

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So how about that Belmont Stakes win by a long shot after both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner skipped the race. ..

Yeah, me neither.

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What’s the next SF Giants giveaway in 2017 – homage to the 1962 Mets?

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Draymond Green post-game 3  “I don’t pay that much attention to anybody in Cleveland, honestly. They don’t seem to be the sharpest people around.”
This should be entertaining the next time the Warriors play in Quicken Loans Arena.

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Apparently James Comey’s testimony was watched by 20 million people, more than who watched any game in the NBA finals. To be fair. until game 4, Comey looked a whole lot more competitive than the Cavs.

The number 3 story on ESPN today was  about Lavar Ball? WTF. It’s enough to make you wish for more substantive news on the Kardashians.

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Latest rumor is Lebron James trying to form a super team in Los Angeles. Maybe we should just disband @NBA & cut down to 4 All-Star teams

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Meanwhile, tonight SF Giants lose a game 4-0 to Twins where the giveaway item was a “Buster Hugs” blanket. Thinking Buster Hugs might be what the team needs to start giving for any fans showing up to games.

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Getting sense that if Comey stands up this morning and flatly says Trump told him to obstruct justice GOP will say Trump is vindicated.

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Some DC bars are offering free drinks in the morning during Comey testimony every time Trump tweets about it.  So if these words are blurring, cheers.

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ESPN reports that a Golden State sweep in the NBA finals would cost the Warriors’ owners more than $22 million for games not played at Oracle. “I feel so sorry for them” said nobody.

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Pro-Trump group to run attack ad against Comey during former FBI director’s testimony. Not much gratitude for making their guy President

Think I just watched Buster Posey’s first non-solo home run since about 2014. #SFGiants

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After 18 seasons, Bob Stoops said today that he is retiring as Oklahoma’s football coach, and it is not for health reasons. Too soon to start a pool on possible Sooner scandals?

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Apple is going to have a new iPhone feature called “Do Not Disturb While Driving” that will block texts and other notifications.. But passengers who are just riding will be able to disable the tool. So wonder what percent of people will just claim they are always passengers?

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Seeing many complaints against Democrats for not articulating a positive message. Point taken. But it is difficult to talk about about a nice remodeling project when someone is trying to burn the house down.

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Maybe this is another reason why Trump likes Putin so much? Vlad in an upcoming Oliver Stone documentary “I am not a woman, so I don’t have bad days I am not trying to insult anyone. That’s just the nature of things. There are certain natural cycles.”

More Chris Christie, defending Trump ahead of Comey testimony “And quite frankly, in these kind of conversations everybody hears what they want to hear.” So that’s going to be Christie’s defense when his official misconduct case in Bridgegate finally comes to trial?

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Those in GOP complaining about waste of time & money on #SenateIntelHearing didn’t have a problem with all those hearings on Benghazi

So if we Democrats aren’t people what are we? Would be okay with saying I’m a cat but then Eric Trump might shoot me?

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On a lighter note, got  a message the BBC had quoted my Amal and George comment from yesterday  “What, George and Amal Clooney gave their new twins nice normal names? Ella and Alexander. Isn’t that a violation of celebrity rules?”

Glad to be one American on Twitter who’s not offending the Brits. 🙂

Confused.  So what post position does Reality Winner have in the Belmont States?

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But hey, who  wouldn’t give a top security clearance to a young woman named Reality Winner?

With tonight’s win the #SFGiants climb to within 10 games of the second Wild Card.  But hey, had almost forgotten that the Giants could walk off the field smiling.

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Michael Buttacavoli, a pro-golfer trying to qualify for the U.S. Open, had to withdraw because American Airlines lost his golf clubs. United Airlines is no doubt chuckling a bit – “What a drag.”

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QB Malik Zaire transferred from Notre Dame to Florida after the SEC adjusted their transfer policy for graduate students. Per ESPN the new rules are less restrictive and reduce penalties for programs whose graduate transfers fail to meet academic requirements.
Shocking. Quarterbacks who transfer in the SEC HAVE academic requirements?

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From an anonymous friend.  Now  try to get this song out of your head.

#TheBachelorette now makes us long for those innocent days when the most surreal reality show in US was on ABC and not in the White House.

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The man who allegedly killed 5 co-workers then himself in Orlando had previously been accused of battering a co-worker. He also according to the Orlando Sentinel had a DUI and some minor drug offenses. No problem getting a gun. But hey, he was white. Move along, nothing to see here.

And we’re certainly not having a “”gun debate.”

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Wrap your head around this: The President of the United States is trolling the Mayor of London two days after a terrorist attack. #MAGA?

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US visa applicants now apparently can be asked to fill out a new form – DS-5535. They will have to list social media and email accounts going back 5 years, and 15 years of employment and home addresses.
Can’t wait to see what country is the first to ask this of visiting Americans.

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Another crazy liberal complaining about Trump’s tweets “These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won’t help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad.”
The tweeter? George Conway – husband of Kellyanne.

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Trump on privatizing AirTrafficControl; we “can look forward to cheaper faster & safer travel.” If planes don’t move they’ll be dragged off?

So if Trump does succeed in creating a new non-profit to run Air Traffic Control who will he put in charge – Ivanka or Jared?

So as far as I can figure – Jeff Sessions is a racist bully & an a**hole. But he isn’t enough of an a**hole for Donald  Trump

NBA Finals game 2 – looking like only competitive playoff game involving #Warriors will be Western Conf. Finals before Kawhi went down.

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If the league knew the Warriors were going to look this good they might have scheduled games one  through four  with a week between them to stretch this thing out.

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SF Giants and Phillies played a series where both teams look like they richly deserve their 2017 records.

I’m sure Trump would have trolled the mayor of London even if his name was still  Boris Johnson instead of Sadiq Khan.

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Wonder who besides me was disgusted by Bill Maher’s casual use of the “n” word, but even more disgusted by Trump’s tweets on #LondonAttacks.

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#Stayclassy. That’s usually a hashtag for some athlete or celebrity. Or a minor political figure. Not a President. But, Trump tweeted today “Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That’s because they used knives and a truck!”
And just imagine the death toll in London if they DID have guns.

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Do I care if Trump golfs, no, but when you’ve got a guy who repeatedly trolled President Obama for golfing, and has now played his 22nd round in less than 150 days…. This is after he said said if elected he wouldn’t have time for golf, but rather “stay in the White House and work my ass off….”
As far as i can tell with pictures, his ass is still attached. Growing even.

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In Turin, over 1,500 were injured, fortunately only three seriously, after a bomb scare apparently caused by some people freaking out over fireworks. This triggered a stampede at a soccer match. Fear itself is winning.

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The Secret Service says they will use the “whole-person concept” and will no longer automatically disqualify an applicant who has used marijuana repeatedly in the past. Well, it’s high time.

According to the Harvard Crimson, at least 10 students admitted to Harvard in 2017 had their admissions rescinded after posting offensive things in a Facebook group titled , “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens.”  (We aren’t apparently talking just un-pC jokes, this stuff included abusing children,  jokes on rape, the Holocaust etc.)

Two reactions here – first, how can you be smart enough to get into Harvard and stupid enough to post this kind of crap publicly on line. And second, this year there are some happy people on Harvard’s waitlist.

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Just wondering what Trump would have said if a foreign leader responded to the fatal stabbings in Portland by tweeting an attack on him and his policies.

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As Trump prepares to focus on infrastructure this week – while he’s not golfing or insulting our allies, this is an important reminder (via the NY Times) “The federal government would make only a fractional down payment on rebuilding the nation’s aging infrastructure. Trump would rely on a combination of private industry, state and city tax money, and borrowed cash to finance the rest.”
Wonder how much of the proposed money will go to corporations run by Trump family and donors.

Light bus to hell moment from TC  “Anyone notice that French Prez Macron held Trump’s hand longer than Melania???

Picture is from about a year and a half ago at Borough Market.  Three Americans, two Brits.  We were strangers but bonded around closing time at New Forest Cider, where they ended up letting us buy an extra pint.  And we spent an hour teaching each other British and American slang equivalents.  Most memorably deciding that “wanker” equaled “douchebag.”    I’d go back tomorrow if I could.

If US is “the land of the free & the home of the brave” how come English are so much more defiant & less afraid after terrorist acts?

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As Americans send our thoughts and prayers to London…our President’s initial reaction “We need the travel ban.”  Or the whole tweet  – “We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!”

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But apparently “extra level of safety” doesn’t include sensible gun regulations?

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Today’s “crooks are stupid” story: In Northern California, two people were arrested for allegedly stealing computer equipment including 18 GPS devices. Guess how police found them.

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Pence said today that Trump “is more concerned with Des Moines than Denmark” Uh, Hillary won Des Moines as well as Pittsburgh.

There are clearly more important things in the world, but the #StanleyCup finals aren’t even on network TV in the US? #WTF?

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Marlins #EdinsonVolquez threw the first no-hitter of the year today. Amazingly, it wasn’t against the #SFGiants.

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Thinking free speech means Bill Maher has a right to use the “N” word. It also means we have a right to say it was f*cking stupid.

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You cannot make this stuff up: Today’s (small) “Pittsburgh not Paris” rally by Trump supporters in Wash. DC was held in Lafayette Park.

Nikki Haley “President Trump believes the climate is changing and he believes pollutants are part of the equation.”.. But “we’ll do it under our own terms” So pulling out of Paris really just was a middle finger to the rest of the world. #Becausehecan

Trump trying to privatize air traffic control. So if planes don’t move fast enough on the runways, ATC can just start dragging them off?

In Texas, a man who got a “Jesus is my Life” tattoo, and was warned to avoid sun and swimming for 10 days, promptly went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, got an infection, and died.

Even God is going “Jesus Christ!”

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From Marc Ragovin “Some advice for all those going nutso over Trumps decision to pull out of the Paris Accord: sit back, relax, take a deep breath …. oh wait, we can’t do that anymore:”

While we wait for game 2 of the NBA finals, sometime in the next week….

If you’re not a sports fan you may not know about Enes Kanter. He is Turkish, the center for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and an outspoken critic of President Erdogan. The government revoked his passport recent, and today he tweeted ” MY DAD HAS BEEN ARRESTED by Turkish government and the Hitler of our century He is potentially to get tortured as thousand others.”
So where’s the outraged tweet from Trump on this one? #terrorcomesinmanyforms.

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Hackers apparently broke into “OneLogin,” a centralized password manager. Which reminds me why I don’t use password managers, and of an old joke. A guy visits his son at college, where the young man tells him he is working in a lab trying to create a universal solvent. Dad’s response “When you find it, what are you going to keep it in?”

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Give the man credit for putting his money where his mouth was: ESPN via Sportsnet.ca reports Blue Jays OF Kevin Pillar, suspended 2-games for an anti-gay slur, will donate his forfeited salary Toronto-area LGBTQ organizations.
“It’s not lip service. It’s easy to come out and make your apologies and hope people forget, but I meant what I said when I said hopefully I’ll be made an example of.”

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So clearly  Austin Slater was needed to ignite SF Giants offense. #NerdNation #GoStanford

As much as  SF GIants miss Madbum,  his replacement Ty Blach might be their best pitcher.

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Would if have helped if instead of using the phrase “pull out” world leaders had begged Trump not to abort the Paris Accord? #prolifemyass

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Kellyanne Conway says Trump might use executive privilege to keep Comey from testifying. Somewhere Nixon is going “You can do that?” #WTF

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Putin to Megyn Kelly “even children could hack an election.” So that’s what Russia does with their child labor?

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Dear Kathy Griffin – In this case, if at first you don’t succeed. STFU.

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From Marc Ragovin ” Some advice for all those going nutso over Trumps decision to pull out of the Paris Accord: sit back, relax, take a deep breath …. oh wait, we can’t do that anymore.”

Whoever thought that the 2017 SF Giants would be the lead story on Sportcenter over a hit?   Especially one by Strickland on Harper?

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Giants fans hope it won’t be the biggest hit of the year.

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Just thinking that both SF Giants s AND Nationals are glad Madison Bumgarner was on on the  DL & thus not allowed to get on field during that brawl.

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Watching Hunter Strickland and Bryce Harper after seeing Hamilton makes  you glad the US has outlawed duels.

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And of course no one will ever really know what Strickland intended to do with that pitch that hit Harper square on the thigh..   But anyone who has been watching the Giants knows, if  Hunter’s control was THAT good, he’d be the team closer.

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Tiger Woods arrested for DUI. ! So he’s even having issues driving off the golf course?

Maybe Tiger Woods’ sponsor  Nike ought to partner with Uber/Lyft with the slogan “Just do it – call a ride.”

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And well, at least Tiger Woods wasn’t driving an Indy 500 pace car this weekend.

JFK would have been 100 today, Meaning he would have been almost old enough to run as a Democrat for President in 2020. #JFK100

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A newly engaged couple in Canada escaped without serious injury after he proposed in a hot-air balloon, which then crashed into a tree. Well, that’s one way of getting the “for worse” part out of the way early.

Tuning into #TheBachelorette to be reminded of those days when most outrageous regular insanity in US at least seemed to be on reality TV.

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And wasn’t it nice when joining a televised competition  “for  the wrong reasons” was only something we worried about for a dating show instead of the presidency?

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Rumors are that Trump may overturn President Obama’s loosening of restrictions for travel and tourism to Cuba.  Forget healthcare, has Donald asked his base what they think about giving up Cuban cigars?

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Bummer, Frank Deford. 78, has passed away. In the pre-ESPN days when you grew up with just the local paper and Sports Illustrated, his words helped guide many of us off on a lifetime love of sports.

Somehow it doesn’t seem quite right to say “Happy Memorial Day.”

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Would like all these MLB camouflage hats for Memorial Day Weekend more if they didn’t feel like just another way to sell stuff.

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Pitchers who kinda sorta rake. Cueto had a sacrifice fly Sunday  for SF Giants. They will take it.

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SHN sends email thank you notes to everyone who buys Hamilton tickets after the show and suggests posting on social media about #HamiltonSF to spread the word. Right. Because they’d hate to have lots of empty seats for the rest of the show’s run? #WTF

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The long lull between the Western and Eastern conference championships and the NBA finals continues…  Why, this is enough of a break for players to start and finish a relationship with a Kardashian.

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People at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom were waiting in line six hours or more to enter the new “Pandora – the World of Avatar” land this morning.  Wonder how long some of these folks would wait in line to vote.

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Eight dead in #Mississippi. Not terrorism, just regular American gun violence. Move along, nothing to see here.

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From “Ivanka Trump HQ” verified Twitter account  “Make champagne popsicles this #MemorialDay”

They go so well with all that cake we’re supposed to eat.

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Give @realDonaldTrump credit for one thing on his foreign trip – a unified Europe

Trump tweets were so abnormally calm and measured last week, then so “normal” Sunday can only assume someone convinced him Twitter didn’t work in Europe?

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John Kelly, the Director of Homeland Security who will make the decision if Americans can continue to take their laptops, iPads and Kindles on international flights without checking them in luggage, also said last month “a border wall is essential” because of “tremendous threats” such as drugs and individuals coming into the US.

Now I feel much safer . #sarcasm

So if you’re at a play and miss hearing the SF Giants bullpen looking at first like they might blow another game, but the team hangs on…is it still torture?

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California Senator Kamala Harris and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown have bet cases of good beer on the Warriors and Cavs for the NBA championship. So will they next bet cases of generic beer on if the 49ers or Browns will end up with next year’s #1 NFL draft pick?

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Newark Airport was partially evacuated today after a “suspicious pressure cooker” was found in a shopping bag. It turned out to be harmless. But thinking if you are flying to a wedding and thinking of giving someone a pressure cooker as a present this summer, maybe best to have it shipped

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RIP Gregg Allman, 69. Not sure what’s worse for baby-boomers, having had music heroes die young, or having them die from at least somewhat age-related causes.

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British Airways canceled all flights Saturday from London after what say is “a major IT system failure.” And United might be quietly smiling – “what a drag.”

What would we give to hear what other world leaders were privately saying about Trump when he went off to give solo troop speech in Italy?

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Trump on his foreign trip “We hit a home run.” As SF Giants fans have sadly learned for too much of  2017.  – One or two home runs a week means you are losing, bigly.

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In Europe are they now feeling like Americans do when that really obnoxious house guest you really didn’t want is finally gone?

So how long until we find out someone in Trump White House has their own email server too? “If the President does it, it’s not illegal.”

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Trump’s am tweet “I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!” So he’ll tell us, “after the break?” #realityshowpresident

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Quite a tweet storm Saturday from @realDonaldTrump. But about awful #Portland killings by anti-Muslim extremist – crickets. Why am I not surprised?

If your killer is undocumented you warrant major attention from Trump but not if your killer is white supremacist? #Sad #ReallySad #Portland

Wonder how many sports journalists are hoping athletes aren’t paying enough attention to get the idea that bodyslamming is an acceptable response to questions.

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Madison Bumgarner soon to start playing catch in rehab from dirt bike accident. Not sure what @SFGiants miss most – his pitching or his bat?

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Apparently both Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing may skip the Belmont.    This news will devastate casual horse racing fans who planned to watch the race – both of them.

An Akron hospital just removed mandatory pantyhose w/ dresses & skirts from employee dress code. Millennials are going “what are pantyhose?

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Nothing says “America First” like wearing a $51,000 Italian dress to the G-7 Summit.

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But ah, those pictures of #EmmanuelMacron and #JustinTrudeau. Millions of women just changed their computer screensavers….

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A Turkish newspaper reports the government has issued arrest warrant for outspoken OKC center Enes Kanter – for being a member of a “terror group,”
Just guessing Gregg Popovich might want to take Istanbul off his travel list.

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Washington Post said Jared Kushner “suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in US for communications.” But at least  he didn’t use private email server.

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Trump condemned the most recent attack in Egypt and said “the bloodletting of Christians must end.” How about the ‘bloodletting’ period?